Congress History

The Normanís introduced chess to Hastings - William the Conqueror
was a chess player and once broke a chess board over the head of his
nephew, Louis the Fat, having accused him of cheating. Fortunately the
arbiters no longer permit this kind of behaviour at Hastings.

The present Congress grew out of the great interest in chess shown in
the 1880ís. On 15th June 1882 an advertisement appeared in the local
paper which read: ďA meeting of those interested in chess will be held
at the Albert Temperance Hotel, Queens Road, Hastings on Wednesday 28th
June 1882. The meeting was attended by a group of professional and
business men who formed the Hastings and St Leonards Chess Club. Herbert
Dobell was elected Secretary which proved to be a significant event for
the whole chess world. His vision meant that regular regional matches
were held and County matches were played at Hastings for the first time.

An annual festival was started which included lectures and
exhibitions. The festival was enhanced by leading players of the day
including Lasker, Gunsberg, Janowski and Teichmann and especially by J.
H.Blackburne, who later became a resident of Hastings.

The strength of the club increased and this paved the
way for the great Hastings Tournament of 1895 - still regarded as
probably the greatest chess tournament ever held.